The Forbidden Escapade of the Goddess
by Skyward Princess of Time
Summary: "You must not go to him. Remember what we discussed?" Yes, Zelda remembered, and no, she did not have to listen to a word Impa said. SS, Zelink. Oneshot.


**I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did… xD  
**"**The Forbidden Escapade of the Goddess" is rated K+.**

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_**The Forbidden Escapade of the Goddess  
**__A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction_

"_No, Your Grace! You must not go to him. Remember what we discussed?"_

Yes, she remembered. Yes, she remembered quite well. She was not Skyloft's Zelda, the dutiful daughter of the Knight Academy Headmaster, but the reincarnation of the blessed Goddess Hylia. It was her job to save not only Skyloft but all of Hyrule. She couldn't be the plain girl she was back in Skyloft…she couldn't be Link's Zelda.

Yeah, she knew all of that.

That didn't mean she had to _like _it.

"Your Grace, you won't get any closer to the boy if you just sit around and pout all day," her guardian protector said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering something that the Goddess was reduced to a petulant child.

Zelda let out a small _harrumph _and remained on the sandy broken stone she sat on with both her arms and legs crossed. The pout on her face was enough to put one thousand babies to shame. For an added effect, she blew air upwards, so harsh with her annoyance that it set her blonde bangs aflutter.

"You didn't have to be so mean to him," she finally said, her voice taking on a whiny tone that would cause any mother to plug their ears in frustration. "He's trying his best."

True, she didn't actually hear what Impa said to Link after she—very reluctantly, very, _very _reluctantly—moved on ahead, but she knew enough about Impa to know she probably chewed into him real deep. Impa was a strong woman, but she demanded perfection, and well, perfection wasn't always viable. Especially since poor Link was still learning and was thrust into this crazy destiny just like she was. Even more so…at least she had Impa, who was actually very pleasant company when she wasn't being a hard-ass. Link had…_no one_.

Zelda couldn't erase Link's sweet look of delight when their eyes met at the Earth Temple. She couldn't forget the jubilant smile, a smile mixed with relief, happiness, and love that crossed his face the moment he saw she was okay. She also would forever recall the look of pure disappointment and sadness when Impa restrained Zelda from going to him.

"The boy is not ready to protect you," Impa said with a small sigh, as if she was giving this lecture to Zelda for the hundredth time—which she was! "In time, I have no doubt that he will be the Hero he is destined to be. But he needs time…time to realize his own potential, and he must do that alone. You know this better than anyone."

Yeah, she did. Because, somewhere deep inside of her, she could remember saying the exact same words to Link—well, technically he was a slightly different version of Link—many moons ago. Still…all of this "Zelda-and-Hylia-are-the-exact-same-person" was really weird and all of her memories overlapped and conflicted with each other. On one hand, she was still naïve, sweet little simple Zelda, and on the other hand, she was a wise, powerful goddess. It was a terrible conflict of identities.

Zelda was so wrapped up in her own identity crisis that she almost missed the slight _ping _of two vials hitting each other. She turned around abruptly in surprise, wondering what Impa had up her sleeve this time. The Sheikah guardian attempted to hide one of the vials behind her back, but not before the young goddess could snatch it away.

"What's this?" Zelda asked, her voice gaining a slight teasing tone. Impa's cheeks flushed a ever-so-slight shade of red as she cleared her throat, a poor attempt to keep up the stern attitude.

"It is nothing of your concern," she started to say, attempting to take it back away before Zelda leapt up with a graceful dance, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. Deciding to tap into the more Hylia part of her brain, she remembered that the little vial was a very potent—and very _expensive_—burn potion. The thing was rarer than a skinny Kikwi and cost at least a Mogma's weight in Rupees. Zelda observed her own body for a moment, trying to figure out if she had some obscure, minor burn that Impa would probably insist on treating and was happy—and a bit relieved—to reassure herself that she was perfectly fine. So was Impa. If it wasn't for either of them, that meant…

Despite the precarious situation it implied, Zelda couldn't help but grin.

So Impa _did _care.

"This is for Link," Zelda breathed, her eyes widening as she stared at the little red vial as if she was a small child looking at their Loftwing for the first time.

"I said it is none of your concern," the strong female guardian said, taking advantage of Zelda's mesmerized state and snatching away the vial. "My decision is final. You cannot go to him, Your Grace. I forbid it. You must let the Chosen Hero develop on his own."

Zelda's lip trembled, unable to hide her obvious depression that poor Link would be alone…_again_. And…if Impa even considered giving him the vial, that meant he was burned, right? He…he was hurt? He was hurt and still was looking for Zelda…?

Seeing her melancholic expression, Impa sighed, this time with a bit of empathy behind it. She placed a gentle hand and Zelda's shoulder and gave a kind smile. "Your Grace, tomorrow we will be able to proceed into the depths of the Temple of Time and continue our quest. The quicker we complete what we need to do, the quicker you can reunite with him."

Zelda returned Impa's kind smile, once again sensing Impa's generous nature underneath her gruff exterior.

Still…that didn't change the fact that she wanted to be with her Link, who was injured and despite that fact he was still looking for her. She blocked out the chides of the goddess's voice within her.

Who knew how long Zelda's deed would take? Hylia may be a patient goddess, but Zelda of Skyloft was known for being as impatient as they come. No way in hell was she going to wait to see him again.

_We have a mission to complete, we cannot waste any time, the future of Hyrule depends on us…._

"Shut up," Zelda grumbled. "You were madly in love too."

The voice in her head was left speechless.

* * *

Medina was _not _happy.

Zelda felt slightly guilty about her Loftwing's plight, but there was no way she was going to let her bird fly back above the clouds. It took ages to convince her to come below the cloud barrier and she was more than a little upset about searching for Link in the sandy, gritty breeze of the Lanaryu desert. More than that, Loftwings' night vision was terrible and her trusty partner had a very difficult time spotting anything at 1 o'clock in the morning.

Sneaking past Impa was easier than expected. The Sheikah had tired herself out immensely from the day's events, and she was in a very deep sleep. Snatching the vial away was a little tricky—Impa hid the thing in her _breasts _of all places—but her sleep was so deep that the only thing stopping Zelda was her slight discomfort at the personal space violation. Still, her desire to see Link, even if it was just for a moment, trumped everything. Impa wouldn't notice if she was only gone for a little bit. And if she did…well…Zelda hoped she could see Link before that.

Now for the hard part…where _was _Link? Zelda had hoped riding Medina would make it possible to find him—how hard could it be to find the one lone green thing in the middle of a scorching brown desert?—but between the sandstorm and the night, she was struggling. If only he would answer to her calls…

…wait a minute…

"Medina, call Cerise," Zelda ordered her Loftwing sternly. Cerise was the name of Link's Loftwing. It was no secret that Medina was in love with Cerise and the two were mates, which was why Cerise always responded to her calls when he wasn't occupied with Link. If she could send Cerise to find Link, the Loftwing should be able to sense his master's presence, especially with the unbreakable bond he shared with Link. Then, Cerise could guide Medina there through his calls. What a brilliant idea. She really was amazing, wasn't she?

Medina let out a call, and almost within seconds, Zelda had a very unhappy Crimson Loftwing on her hands. Like Medina, he was not a fan of flying below the clouds.

"Cerise, please find Link," Zelda begged. "I'm afraid he's hurt. I know you can sense him if he's nearby. He is here, right? In the desert?"

If Link wasn't in Lanaryu, the distant would be too great for Cerise to sense him. However, Zelda _knew _her Link. Regardless of any major injury he would have sustained, he would still have pressed forward, stubbornly refusing to give up and screw his own condition to hell if he had to. Her confident assumption rang true as Cerise gave a small whistle and nodded his head. With a spread of his majestic wings, Cerise entered a sharp nose dive to the east, singing a song which Medina echoed, the Loftwings' duet a pleasing sound to Zelda's ears.

As they reached the ground, Medina quickly turned to the side, unseating Zelda quite promptly, her cue that they reached their destination. Zelda gave a startled cry, quickly getting out her own Sailcloth her father made her when she was very little and managiednot to smack face-first into the sand. She observed her surroundings. She was next to some sort of stone structure. A bunch of creepy looking shrimp-lobster-electric-crab things patrolled the nearby area, but Zelda determined she was safe because she was in some sort of blind spot. She smelled the soft scent of burnt firewood and discerned a small campsite to her right. Sure enough, huddled against the stone building with a small brown blanket, was her Link. Zelda gasped, running towards him and not caring that she got her pearl-white dress stained with dirt and sand as she collapsed by his side.

"Link," she whispered, tears of joy streaming down her face, a flowing river along the dirty and cracked desert. "Link…I'm here, it's me, your Zelda…"

He gave no response.

Zelda frowned, observing her best friend's body. She was certain that he would wake to her melodic voice, just like he always did when she woke him on a summer's midday…

It didn't take her long to figure out something was wrong. She was no doctor, but she knew a thing or two from her past life and from patching up the various beatings Groose gave Link when they were children. Dust, dirt, and grime covered the young hero's face. If she didn't know any better, he almost looked like a blond werewolf, his own white skin hidden by the layers of grains. His eyelids fluttered restlessly, almost as if he was having a nightmare, or worse…

Zelda laid a hand on his forehead, pulling back abruptly with a gasp as she realized he was burning up something terrible. His mouth was slightly open, likely from the strain of breathing as his body shuddered with each labored gasp, wheezing slightly from the dust and sand that blocked his airways. Zelda quickly fumbled with the various potions she'd brought along, just in case the hero had more injuries than the burn…

_The burn!_

"Where are you hurt, Link?" She whimpered frantically, hoping, hoping _hoping _that he would respond despite the sinking feeling that all she would hear was those painful gasps. She threw off his blanket, running her fingers up and down Link's already weathered tunic and searching for lacerations in the fabric. After determining that there were no open wounds in his torso, her gaze shifted to his legs where…

Zelda couldn't mask her startled gasp. It was hastily patched together with an awful sewing job Link must have done in two minutes, but there was a massive tear in Link's left pantleg. Zelda tore the fabric—seriously, did he really think that awful patchwork fix would hold the material together?—and closed her eyes as she couldn't stomach the sight of the terrible wound underneath. She bit down on her lip, hard, trying to force the bile in her throat back into her stomach where it properly belonged. The river of jubilant tears that once caressed her face morphed into a tormented waterfall, the drops of her tears soaking the layer of dust that covered his body.

She had never seen a burn wound so bad. His entire left leg region, from the depths of his boots—she was sure his foot was injured too but she couldn't bring herself to remove his boot and check—to the upper regions of his thigh were covered in red, shiny flesh, skin torn and ripped, a volcano's aftermath. Where the skin wasn't shiny and clear burned off, areas of a pasty white and almost purply color stained Link's flesh, indicating the burn may have caused even more damage than she thought humanly possible. In the middle of his leg there was a deep gash, a gash so cavernous she could see the bone underneath, and the once-red skin was stained a deep brown and purple, a harsh indicator of infection. If Link didn't receive serious treatment almost immediately, he would surely…

Zelda clenched her teeth, angrily punching the ground next to her as she was unable to mask her sobs. What the hell was he thinking? He was no stranger to cuts and bruises—between Groose's beatings and his own clumsiness he was injured all the time—and he was no idiot, he must have known how serious the injury was. Still, he walked on that leg? He fought on that leg? He refused treatment because it would take up too much time? He refused to stop and heal himself because _he was afraid to be late_?

_I did this to him. I manipulated his feelings. I made him love me. I made him want me. His strong passion to save me…this…this is all my fault…_

Zelda passionately uncorked a special Red Potion, drinking the whole thing with a giant _swig _and then kissing Link, kissing him deeply, so the liquid transferred from her mouth to his. Normally her heart would go aflutter and she would blush something terrible at the mere thought of kissing him, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He gave a weak cough, and she forced his mouth closed so he wouldn't vomit the contents back up.

Holding his mouth shut with one hand, she maneuvered the burn potion with the other and bit off the cork. After discerning that the special Red Potion was in his stomach and not about to come spewing out, she chugged the burn potion and once again gave it to him with a deep kiss. Even after the liquid was gone, Zelda continued to kiss him, running her fingers through his tangled hair and nuzzling his nose lovingly. It was the first time she was doing anything physically romantic with Link, and unfortunately he was unconscious, but it felt so real, so _right_, that Zelda felt absolutely no qualms about it.

"My Link," she whispered, laying a hand on his forehead and ignoring the initial jolt of heat that shocked her to her very core. To her relief, only seconds later the Red Potion kicked in, causing his body temperature to drop from such a dangerous level. It was no means a permanent fix and a tinge of fever still lingered, but Link's life was no longer in danger. Forcing herself to stare at his terrible wound—a wound that _she _inflicted—she was also filled with deep liberation as that too began to mend. The potion was a special breed. Most potions wouldn't be able to heal such an awful wound, but thankfully this potion almost made the wound as good as new. He might feel a tinge of pain tomorrow and still possessed a light fever, but other than that, Link was almost completely cured.

Zelda gave a deep sigh, finally realizing what a sorry state Hylia, the magnificent goddess, was in. The waterfalls of tears still flowed down her cheeks and she hadn't paid attention to her extremely runny nose, wiping her nose on her sleeve and almost laughing to herself as she could almost hear Impa's lecturing voice in her head.

"Zel…Zel…da…"

His voice was coarse, still shuddering and hacking from the dirt that constantly streamed in through both his nose and mouth, but his voice still retained that loving caring tone, a delightful aria to Zelda's ears. She pressed her forehead to his, now allowing herself to give a choking, sob of a laugh in pure relief. After another sweet kiss to his forehead, she reluctantly pulled back.

Impa was right. She didn't have time for this. She had an important task to complete, and one that would likely take him from her and more regretfully _hurt_ him. It was an unfair fate, but it was one she had to do for the sacred land of Hyrule that she loved so much.

Gently laying his head back down on the sand, she pulled the dirty blanket back over the still-sleeping hero. Link's breathing eased, and she couldn't see clearly in the small firelight that flickered from the fire, but she could have sworn she saw a smile on his face.

"I love you," she whispered.

_We will see him again. I know, because I was deeply in love many moons ago. I may have lost him then, but I will not lose him again. Not now, not ever. Zelda will always be with her Link._

Wiping away the last of her tears, Zelda smiled.

"Now _that_ we can agree on."

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**I've always wanted to write a bit from Zelda's perspective during Skyward Sword. Mission accomplished!**

**The way I see it, although Zelda and Hylia are one in the same, at this point it's still a pretty new concept to Zelda so she's still getting used to the fact that she had a previous lifetime. That's why she almost sees Hylia as a separate entity, even if she and Hylia are the same person. **

**Anyways, please leave a review! It would really make me happy. :) I'm on a bit of a Skyward Sword kick, so who knows if I'll write another one-shot in the near future? xD**


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